Ryan C. Hurley

I received my PhD in Applied Mechanics from the California Institute of Technology in 2015. From 2015 to 2017, I was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Computational Geomechanics Group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. In January 2018, I started a position as an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins University. I am currently (as of Fall 2021), an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, an Assistant Professor (secondary appointment) of Civil and Systems Engineering, both at Johns Hopkins University, and a Faculty Fellow of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute.

Research topics

Since my PhD, my research has focused on understanding the links between the microscopic and macroscopic mechanical behaviors of granular materials, and other brittle structural and geologic materials like concrete and rocks. My current research interests focus on using in-situ experimental measurements to resolve the details of deformation mechanisms and failure processes in these materials to improve our understanding of their causes and effects. I am also increasingly interested in using insights from in-situ experiments to improve modeling capabilities.

Why Open Geomechanics

I joined Open Geomechanics to support the movement of educational institutions towards an open-access framework. Open access makes publicly funded research available to the public, fosters trust between the scientific community and the public, and reduces the impact of social and financial inequalities on the availability of information.

Statement of Interests

My current research is supported by grants from U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. My prior research support has come from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Army Research Office (ARO), and the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). These are all public sources of funding.